Making Government Budgets Better

By the end of January, the City of Toronto will finish this year’s budget process. It is one of the most important government processes, but also one of the least understood. To reflect on the budget process and how to improve it, I interviewed Alex Mazer, co-founder of Better Budget TO and councillor candidate for Ward 18 (http://www.alexmazer.ca).

Time to Ask the Tough Questions

Amanda Lang’s book, “The Power of Why,” was written to demonstrate the role curiosity plays in fostering innovation in business and our everyday lives. Innovation is not necessarily about coming up with big, revolutionary ideas. Instead, it can arise from small improvements, the combination of existing ideas, and continuously asking questions. For instance, the Four Seasons hotel chain was based on founder Izzy Sharp’s question of why hotels were discomforting and customers were considered temporary and anonymous. Instead, he felt customers should be treated as honoured guests and the rooms should be equipped as if it was what he wanted in his own home. He was also known for adopting McDonald’s idea of consistent service, though certain employees ridiculed the idea of a luxury hotel chain learning from McDonald’s.

A Quick Guide to Political Campaigns

At one point or another, you may have considered getting more involved in politics, but may not know where to start. 

While I have followed politics since my teenage years, it wasn't until February 2012 when I became seriously involved. At the time, I was fairly new to Toronto proper and the NDP was holding a leadership race to replace the late Jack Layton. I was curious to meet my elected officials and it turned out the MP for my riding, Peggy Nash, was a leadership candidate. 

The Need for Tone at the Top

In my previous post, “Political Health in Action,” I provided examples on how grassroots movements are effective in influencing change and therefore, a key component of political health. However, political leaders need to set good examples as well, for they can be a source of inspiration for others to follow. 

Not to mention, good political leaders need to reach out to their adversaries and grassroots organizations to ensure policy is drafted in the interests of all stakeholders. But what happens when political leadership is absent from a critical issue?

Political Health in Action

At the beginning of the month, I outlined the three principles of political health, those being citizen participation, social justice, and institutional integrity. Of these three, citizen participation is by far the most important, yet the most neglected.

Too many people in Western society tend to believe our opinions do not matter and/or we do not have much time to be informed of current affairs, let alone take action. These beliefs could not be further from the truth, and I will briefly describe some examples and a few action items on what you can do to improve your political health.